When I decided to add this class to my schedule as an elective, Dr. Kachurick asked if I had taken any prerequisites into the course, such as Money and Banking, etc. I have not because I specialize in Marketing, but I remember thinking, “how hard can it be?” Well, needless to say, I was very intimidated at the start of the semester when everyone had knowledgeable input into discussion, except for me. In order to keep up, I would write down everything and take notes of what people said, then memorize the facts and analyze different points of view.
To say this class was intellectually stimulating would be an understatement because it took a lot of analyzing to create in-depth points of view. Looking back, I am far advanced beyond the mindset and knowledge that I had upon entering this class. I believe class discussions, article topics, and the impact the class had on me, contributed to my success in this course.
Class discussions:
I believe class discussion is the best way to learn because you provide your own input and opinions, as well as analyze everyone else’s point of view. As a whole, I can honestly say, I saw the class improve week by week. I’ll admit, in the beginning I always thought Ryan was so smart. This is probably because he enjoys politics more than myself. Although we never shared the same points of view, I admired his initiative to voice his opinions. Wendy also impressed me from the beginning, because she was one of the only girls that voiced her opinions, and I looked up to her for that. For instance, I now know that she is very environmentally-conscious (such as our talks about recycling and the Greening of Death). Also, I felt that the two of us brought an emotional aspect into discussions compared to the gentlemen. For instance, we took the side of the poor and middle-class during our debates about tax cuts. It seemed the gentlemen didn’t want to tax the rich anymore, but Wendy and I thought that was absurd. Looking back, we were a little more compassionate towards individuals, than the men, during the majority of discussions.
Finally, I can say I noticed a difference between two other students in class. Pat started to think before he belted out some obnoxious statement and ceased to flip-flop his opinions. I think he became more professional in the way he speaks and carries himself, compared to the beginning of the semester. The second person that I thought improved was Jon, because he started providing more input into discussion as classes went on. Also, I was very impressed with his choices of articles that he presented. (The first one was about solar panels and the second was about running the internet through the city.) These articles seemed challenging to me, compared to the one I did about Twitter. That is why I was so impressed because I didn’t expect that from him, suit and all. It’s challenging to reflect on the class, but I think we all noticed major improvement in ourselves by the end of the year.
Article topics:
My favorite topics that we discussed were the articles about economics and the articles about well-known companies, such as Google and Twitter.
Economics:
I think I enjoyed these discussions the most because I learned so many things that I never knew. For instance, I had no idea that our nation’s banks were bailed out. Although I’m embarrassed to admit that, I’ve learned about it, compared it to Europe’s crisis, and formed my own opinions about it. It’s the bank’s fault and the government should not step in. If every company failed, does the government step in? No. In which case, we need to bail out the little guy. It would be less expensive and I think banks take advantage of the system. The second topic that we discussed a great deal was immigration. I am a very stereotypical person but never formed a full opinion about it until we discussed it various times. In my opinion, immigrants are taking advantage of our opportunistic country. They do not pay taxes, and we have nowhere to send them once they are found out. What’s the point of having Border Control at all? Many people claim we can use immigrants for low-paying jobs that American’s do not want to do. My solution is having the people on welfare work for their benefits. The government is too soft and allows citizens to take advantage of them! Then we wouldn’t need immigrants to do the dirty jobs! Unless these immigrants legalize themselves and get an education, I am not okay with them. Once again, I am very stereotypical and that has not changed during the course of this class.
Companies:
I enjoyed articles like these because it was fun to compare businesses to one another and discuss their business strategies. For instance, as a Netflix customer, Dr. Kachurick was angry when the company split into two entities. I do not understand why they needed to change, or why they ruined their brand recognition by renaming the other part “Flixster.” In all, these class discussions were one of my favorite because I loved analyzing whether a company’s new, or current, business strategies would work.
Class impact on myself:
I believe this class was beneficial to me, both academically and professionally. This class provided me with the resources (subscription to Businessweek and an experienced professor) needed to advance my education by exploring current issues and trends in business. I now have the ability to critically analyze any concept that I come across in life. Also, the way Dr. Kachurick handled this class impacted my professionalism. As a college student, I can say that sweatpants were my best friend. Now I actually want to dress business casual for all upcoming classes next semester. Dr. Kachurick put us on a pedestal above all other students; when you feel professional, it is true that you act professional. (Also, I have tied back my hair for every presentation since the day I led in-class discussion and Dr. Kachurick told me that touching my hair is distracting.) Finally, little things like ‘not generalizing,’ and explaining over and over that a company is an ‘it’ not ‘they,’ are small factors that will lead me to professional success. After the horror stories I shared in the beginning of the year, this class actually turned out to be my favorite this semester. I felt that the class built a relationship and became comfortable with each other; therefore, our experiences together were substantially significant to the knowledge we gained.
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